Jerusalem revolt of 4 BC

The Jerusalem revolt of 4 BC occurred when the people of Jerusalem revolted against the new tetrarch of Judea, Herod Antipas. With Roman assistance, Herod was able to slaughter the riotous mobs and assert his rule.

History
King Herod the Great of Judea was infamous for his wickedness, for his murders of rabbis, his own family, and even children. When he died in 4 BC, his son Herod Antipas succeeded to the throne, leading to riots in Jerusalem. An old man stood on the top of the gates to Jerusalem and cried out "The old Herod is dead! Death to the new one! Long live Israel!". He then proceeded to topple a Roman eagle from the gates, and mobs began to fill the streets, even throwing rocks at Herod's palace. Herod sent a messenger to the Roman governor in Syria to inform him that the eagle of Rome had been torn down and desecrated by a Jerusalem mob, leading to a Roman legion marching towards Jerusalem for three days. The Roman soldiers proceeded to raze parts of the city, and they massacred the Jerusalemite mobs until they lay in heaps. The Roman governor then proceeded to publicly display the bodies of the rebels so as to maintain public order.